Schizophrenia

One of the department's biggest failures in Mr T's case was identification, the ombudsman said.

Failure to check identity He found Mr T's fingerprints had been on a police database since he was arrested for stealing in 1985, but immigration officers failed to check that source.

"The fact that readily available identification means like that weren't used for months and months is disturbing, " Professor McMillan said.

"I think it shows that in the management of the administrative detention environment people weren't adequately focused on what it meant to be holding someone in detention.'' But Mr Ruddock - now Federal Attorney-General - said he could not be held accountable for actions he hadn't taken in ensuring the immigration department was running properly.

Ruddock denies responsibility Mr Ruddock said he took responsibility for his own actions and the instructions he gave others.

"I take responsibility for decisions I take,'' he told reporters in Melbourne.

"I've always made it very clear that officers of the department when I was minister were required to take lawful decisions.

"It would be an interesting standard of ministerial responsibility if a minister for police for instance had to take responsibility for failed prosecutions, wouldn't it?

'' Mr Ruddock said part of the difficulty in properly identifying people resulted from Australia's lack of a universal identity system, which was made worse when people themselves - perhaps because of their diminished ...

Now new research suggests that omega-3s can have a significant impact on everyone's mental health.

"People in our study who had low blood levels of omega-3 fatty acids were more likely to report mild to moderate symptoms of depression, more moodiness, and more impulsivity," says researcher Sarah Conkin, PhD, of the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.

Conversely, people with higher blood levels of omega-3s were found to be more agreeable, based on the results of standardised tests.

Conkin presented the findings at the 46th Annual Scientific Meeting of the American Psychosomatic Society in Denver.The American Heart Association recommends eating at least two servings of fatty fish each week, based on strong evidence that the omega-3 fats found in the fish help protect against cardiovascular disease.

The evidence that omega-3 levels also have an impact on mood disorders is less conclusive but growing, says a researcher who conducted some of the first psychological studies examining the fats.

"It is quite clear that omega-3 fatty acids are good for your heart," says psychiatrist Joseph Hibbeln, MD, of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.

"But it remains to be seen how good they are for your mind.

It is an emerging public health question, but we don't yet know the answer." Two types of omega-3 fatty acids are found in fatty fish like salmon, sardines, and mackerel - eicosapentaenoic acid, or EPA, and docosahexaenoic acid, or DHA.

A third o...

One of the department's biggest failures in Mr T's case was identification, the ombudsman said.

Failure to check identity He found Mr T's fingerprints had been on a police database since he was arrested for stealing in 1985, but immigration officers failed to check that source.

"The fact that readily available identification means like that weren't used for months and months is disturbing, " Professor McMillan said.

"I think it shows that in the management of the administrative detention environment people weren't adequately focused on what it meant to be holding someone in detention.'' But Mr Ruddock - now Federal Attorney-General - said he could not be held accountable for actions he hadn't taken in ensuring the immigration department was running properly.

Ruddock denies responsibility Mr Ruddock said he took responsibility for his own actions and the instructions he gave others.

"I take responsibility for decisions I take,'' he told reporters in Melbourne.

"I've always made it very clear that officers of the department when I was minister were required to take lawful decisions.

"It would be an interesting standard of ministerial responsibility if a minister for police for instance had to take responsibility for failed prosecutions, wouldn't it?

'' Mr Ruddock said part of the difficulty in properly identifying people resulted from Australia's lack of a universal identity system, which was made worse when people themselves - perhaps because of their diminished ...